The present invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for use in a vending machine which dispenses products to customers.
Vending machines have been utilized to provide various snacks, beverages and other products to customers. When a customer has selected a product, the customer inserts money or a credit card into the known vending machine. In addition, the customer actuates a selection switch panel to indicate the location of the product which has been selected. When this has occurred, a dispensing device for the selected product is operated. The selected product then moves from a dispensing location to a product retrieval location. The customer manually retrieves the product at the product retrieval location.
During the use of these known vending machines, there is a possibility of a failed transaction. In a failed transaction, the machine attempts to dispense a product selected by a customer but fails to have the product move to the product retrieval location where it is accessible to the customer. In such a situation, the machine may assume that the selected product was dispensed and may not account to the customer for the product which failed to be dispensed.
Thus, after paying for the selected product, the customer may fail to receive the product. This may result in the customer becoming frustrated with the vending machine. Frustrated customers result in poor relations between the company operating the vending machine and the customer and may adversely affect sales from vending machines.
To prevent customers from becoming frustrated at a failure of a vending machine to dispense a selected product to a product retrieval location, devices have been provided to detect when a selected product moves to a product retrieval location. Known vending machines having devices to detect when a product moves to a product retrieval location are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,920,372; 7,191,034; and 7,286,901. In addition, such a device is disclosed in United States Published Patent Application 2008/0033596.
One of the draw backs of these known dispensed product detection devices is the cost of installing the devices in a vending machine. Accordingly, it is desirable to minimize the cost of a dispensed product detection device used in a vending machine. It is also desirable to facilitate installation of a dispensed product detection device in a vending machine.